The Minnesota Farm Woman

I am somebody who can get lost once I leave my own yard. Really. When I lived in St. Augustine, Florida I did all right because I knew the area.  The thought of driving to the nearby big city of Jacksonville was enough to make my palms begin to sweat, though.  Then my daughter moved there. “I’m coming to town, can you pick me up at the mall at the edge of town?” I would whine. Her answer was always, “Now Mom, you need to be able to drive to my apartment. It’s not that hard.” I did learn, eventually, but I never got there without heart palpitations and white knuckles. I don’t know how she managed it, either, because it seems we had just taught her how to drive the day before. Moving back to Minnesota, I was happy to to be back in my home town, which now even has a stoplight. Growing up in a small town,  I was used to getting and giving directions such as “Turn left after the blue house with the big crabapple tree in the front yard.”  That was easy.  These days, things are much more complicated.  There are more roads and more houses.  For some reason, people don’t put their names on their mailboxes any more.  Thank goodness for my GPS navigator.  For those of you who are even more behind the times than I am, a GPS is a box that sits on your dashboard and in an irritating voice that tells you where to go. Kind of like some husbands I know.  (Other women’s husbands, of course!)  You just have to type the address in and push “go.” Easy, right? Just make sure enter correct information so the little box knows that you are in Grand Rapids, Minnesota and not Grand Rapids, Michigan, or you won’t be home in time for supper.   In these modern times, things have either become harder or easier, depending on who you talk to.  Our cameras are now in our phones which are now in our pockets and not on our desks. Computers keep us in touch with family and friends from all over the world, but there is nothing like the excitement of opening a real letter from a friend.   A good decision can keep us from getting lost, but if we’re not careful, can take us far from home. Some of us, be it through luck or circumstance, will eventually manage to find our way back.